Thrifty Thurston Goes On An Urban Safari At Capitol Lake

By Denise Baggett

Olympia’s Capitol Lake is a great place to observe wildlife. Even during the winter months, a host of animals dwell in and around Capitol Lake. A photo safari makes terrific free fun. Try taking the kids with field journals and pencils so they can sketch the animals they find. There is ample free parking at Marathon Park and lots of stroller and wheelchair accessible viewing. You can get your exercise and entertain the kids at the same time.

My son and I extended our lake walk and strolled behind Bayview Thriftway around the boardwalk at Percival Landing. Three hooded merganser females were cruising the Olympia Yacht Club. They have fancy new wave head feathers. Beside the Sandman tugboat, a school of moon jellies wafted close to the dock. The filtered light of an overcast day was perfect for viewing their see-through bodies in fluid motion.

At the lake, no sooner had we sighted a broad-shouldered bald eagle tip top a fir, the bird dove over us and bombed some unsuspecting lake coots. The eagle didn’t take a coot. But it made three grabs at them. Minutes later a young salmon jumped, which may have enticed the eagle and saved the coots, and soon the osprey soared in from the East Bay. Then we found some beaver-gnawed tree stumps.

The Timberland Regional Library has field guides to help you identify animals. Birds of the Puget Sound Region by local authors Bob Morse, Tome Aversa, and Hal Opperman is easy to use. Try the National Audubon Society’s collection of field guides like the Field Guide to Mammals. Bird Songs by Les Beletsky features audio samples of over 250 North American birds. On your walks, make a game of listening to the chorus of birds. Count the number of different bird songs you hear.  Children might like to mimic the songs.

In the winter it’s more about birds, but don’t be surprised if you encounter a mammal. Occasionally, rare visitors show up. I once saw a mink eating mussels on the shore of Budd Inlet under the Fifth Avenue Bridge.

See if you can spot the nutria, an aquatic rodent that can weigh up to 25 pounds. It looks like a beaver with a long freaky rat tail. It swims along the marshy shore or grazes on the Marathon Park lawn. Northern river otters frequently frolic in the lake within view. They are curious and may stop and watch you. Harbor seals and California and northern sea lions swim the bay close to the Fifth Avenue dam, especially when the salmon are spawning.

Whether you sketch, take photos, or just stroll, look, and listen, when you take in the beauty of the Deschutes River Basin there is always something to find, free wild surprises to marvel at. Skip the gym and get out under the ever-changing sky. The rainy weather doesn’t stop the wildlife, why should it stop you?